In order to prepare me for what I was about to face, LeBlond coach Chris Losson told me that a lot of people watch Wimbledon on TV and think they could do that.

I wasn’t among that group even before facing Loree and Conner Hazelrigg for my Put Me In, Coach column. Something about facing Venus Williams’ 120 mph-plus serve never struck me a simple activity. The Hazelriggs re-inforced that notion — a 6-0, 6-0 loss in which they played three games during each set.

But, as has been the case throughout the summer, my victorious opponent was gracious afterward.

“You did pretty well, actually, for a beginner,” Loree said. “You put the ball in play.”

Conner added about my non-existent backhand: “It wasn’t as bad as most beginners are.”

And Losson called tennis my sport.

“For a novice, you had real potential,” he said. “You put top spin on the ball naturally, which most people never do. You hustle and get to a lot of things.

“We feel that this is your sport. You need to keep working at this.

That last sentence was probably the most accurate of the bunch. Any hand-eye coordination skills I sharpened playing racquetball are worthless on a tennis court when even the most-innocuous strokes seem to send the ball past the baseline.

But there is a certain rush to chasing down tennis balls in the corners for improbable returns during a great rally. Unfortunately, 95 percent of my returns ended up on the other court. The pros might make it look easy, but I’m not fooled.